What is a United Methodist?

Heritage is a United Methodist Church. We expect our leaders to honor our denominational tradition and to pursue ministry in keeping with our tradition.

United Methodists are not afraid to ask difficult questions, to take on tough subjects, and to admit that we do not always understand the answers. We are “people of the Book” – holding the Bible to be the inspired Word from God and encouraging people to read, study and live by its words. United Methodists also believe the Bible came to us through people who heard God’s Word in the light of our own cultural and historical circumstances. And hence, we study the scriptures carefully, making use of scholarship and asking critical questions. And, as United Methodists encounter theological differences among Christians, we bear in mind John Wesley’s approach, “in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”

United Methodists are people who love God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength and love our neighbors. We pursue acts of piety toward God and acts of mercy toward others. We value passionate worship, relevant preaching, small groups to hold Christians accountable to one another, the need to address the social issues of our time and the need to be people whose faith is firmly rooted in and built upon the scriptures. Methodists value the full participation of women and men, people of all races, classes and backgrounds in all facets of fellowship and leadership within the church and society.

Our Social Creed

We believe in God, Creator of the world; and in Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of creation. We believe in the Holy Spirit, through whom we acknowledge God’s gifts, and we repent of our sin in misusing these gifts to idolatrous ends.

We affirm the natural world as God’s handiwork and dedicate ourselves to its preservation, enhancement, and faithful use by humankind.

We joyfully receive for ourselves and others the blessings of community, sexuality, marriage, and the family.

We commit ourselves to the rights of men, women, children, youth, young adults, the aging, and people with disabilities; to improvement of the quality of life; and to the rights and dignity of all persons.

We believe in the right and duty of persons to work for the glory of God and the good of themselves and others and in the protection of their welfare in so doing; in the rights to property as a trust from God, collective bargaining, and responsible consumption; and in the elimination of economic and social distress.

We dedicate ourselves to peace throughout the world, to the rule of justice and law among nations, and to individual freedom for all people of the world.

We believe in the present and final triumph of God’s Word in human affairs and gladly accept our commission to manifest the life of the gospel in the world. Amen.